Whip-coupling



(No Model.)

P. COOPER.

WHIP GOUPLING.

No. 245.706. 1 Patented Aug. 16,1881..

N. PETERS. pnmmmhngmplmr, wnzmngwn. D. cv

UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS COOPER, OF WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

WHIP-opouPLlNe.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 245,706, dated August 16, 1881.

Application filed May 31, 1881. L(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FEANoIs COOPER, of VVesteld, inthe county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented anew and useful Improved Whip-Goupling, of which the following is a specification and description.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap, light, and orn amental coupling, by means of which, when a whip-top is accidentally broken or worn out, the broken end may be cut off and a new top be coupled ont-o the handle portion, and the whip rendered as effective and strong as before; and I accomplish this by the means substantially as hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I is a side view of my invention as applied to the parts of a whip which has been broken, and Fig. Il is a transverse section ot' the coupling at line A.

In the drawings, 2 represents the coupling, which is made cylindrical or of tubular form, of a somewhat thin metal,and of substantially the same diameter throughout, and into this.

cylinder or tube I indent from the outside a strong and well-defined spiral groove, as l, which groove is embossed, or is sharply raised from the interior surface of the tube for substantially the whole length of the tube. This indenture ofthe spiral groove ma y conveniently be done by means of a mandrel of the proper size having a spiral groove of sufticient depth made in its exterior surface, and with the mandrel secured in the chuck of a lathe, placing the thin metal tube firmly thereon, and forcing a somewhat sharp indenting tool or roll held in the tool-post (which is caused to move along the bed at a proper rate ot' speed) against the tube when revolving rapidly, at a point corresponding to the groove in the mandrel. The thinmetal of the tube will thus be forced into the spiral groove in the mandrel, and when one tube is done it may be turned olf the mandrel, like a screw, and another tube put on. In this manner the spiral grooves in the tubes maybe rapidly and accurately made.

Whips are usually covered with some material which is more or less pliable and elastic, and when a whip-top is broken or Worn out, as is often the case, the broken end of the handle portion is cutoff square, and a new top, to which this coupling has previously been secured by turning the larger end of the top snugly and tightlyinto one end of the coupling 2, and about half-way through the length of the tube and the small end of the handle portion of the whip, is turned snugly and tightly into tl'ie opposite end of the tube. ln this turning the two parts of the whip into the tube, the raised sharp spiral ridge on the inside of the tube, which is raised by the indentation ot' the metal at the spiral groove, indents itself in to theliexible and elastic material with which the Whip is covered, and thus by turning the tube in one direction the tube is drawn onto the part of the whip the desired distance.

I am aware that couplings have heretofore been made in which the metal tubes were of sufficient thickness to have an ordinary screwthread cut on the inside; butinasmuch as the material with which the whips are covered is of such afrail character and so pliable, it is so cut and abraded bythe ordinary screw-thread that such couplings 'are liable to work loose again, and the whip does not present so smooth and neat an appearance, owing to the protuberance of the thick metal. I am also aware that small indentations have been made in one end of a coupling from the outside, so that an end of a whip might be partially turned into one end of a tube, but could not be turned into the other end; but such couplings being of thin metal, and smooth for substantially their whole length, they were weak and apt to bend. In my device all these objections are overcome, for I am enabled to use quite thin metal, and the indented spiral groove forms a corrugation the whole length of the tube, which adds very materially to its strength. The ridge on the interior surface of the tube is of such character that the perfect covering of the whip Vwith which the ridge engages is-not cut or injured, and the tube holds itself to the coveringmuch better than an ordinary screw-thread, and makes a stronger joint, and the two parts of the whip,when turned into the ends ofthe tube, are held more firmly, and when finished the whip presents a much neater and more elegant appearance.

These couplings may be made much cheaper IOC than other couplings with a screw-thread out to form @corresponding raised spiral ridge in' i therein, owing to the less amount of stock reside for substantially the Whole length of the 1o quired, and less labor in forming,` the groove. tube, as and for the purpose set forth. o Having thus described my invention what 5 I Claim as new S 7 FRANCIS COOPER.

A11 improved whip-coupling consisting' of a Witnesses: thin metal tube provided with a spiral groove T. A. CURTIS, indented into said tube from the outside, so as E. M. BIssELL. 

